Cael didn't sleep again.
But this time—
It wasn't fear that kept him awake.
It was the absence.
He sat in the dim shelter, staring at his hands.
Trying to remember something simple.
Something basic.
Something human.
A lullaby.
He knew there had been one.
He knew someone used to hum it when the nights grew cold.
But now—
The melody didn't exist.
He pressed his eyes shut.
Nothing came.
No warmth.
No voice.
No face.
Only the hollow certainty that something precious had been taken.
His jaw tightened.
"No more."
The words came out hoarse.
Quiet.
But firm.
"No more borrowing."
Because if one second erased his mother…
What would another erase?
His name?
His past?
Him?
The thought made his stomach turn.
He stood.
The air felt heavy today.
Tense.
Like the city itself was waiting.
Outside—
The Lower District hadn't returned to normal.
Imperial patrol drones floated between buildings like silent predators.
Scanning.
Watching.
Hunting.
They were still searching.
For him.
Cael pulled his hood lower and stepped into the street.
He needed supplies.
Food.
Water.
Something to anchor him to the present.
Something real.
The market was quieter than usual.
Fear had thinned the crowds.
But desperation always won over caution.
People still traded life for survival.
Still sold hours for bread.
Still pretended tomorrow was guaranteed.
Cael approached a stall.
Dried rations.
Expensive.
Always expensive.
The vendor barely looked up.
"Time or credit?"
"Time."
The ring clamped around his wrist.
The familiar cold hum filled the air.
But before the transfer began—
The machine froze.
Then sparked.
The vendor frowned.
"That's strange."
Cael's pulse spiked.
The ring tightened.
Then—
The numbers above his wrist flickered violently.
03:12:41:09
glitched
into
-00:00:01
The machine screamed.
People turned.
The vendor yanked his hand back.
"What did you do?!"
Cael stumbled.
"I didn't—"
The drone above them shifted.
Locked.
Targeting.
Red light fell over him.
"Temporal anomaly detected."
The crowd scattered instantly.
Fear moved faster than reason.
Cael ran.
"Do not resist."
The drone descended.
Energy gathering.
Ready to fire.
He turned the corner—
And found the street blocked.
Imperial enforcers.
Three of them.
Armored.
Still.
Waiting.
They had predicted this.
"Cael."
The one in front spoke his name without emotion.
Cold spread through him.
"You are identified as a temporal violator."
He stepped back.
There was nowhere to go.
"Submit for erasure."
"No," he whispered.
His wrist burned.
The numbers trembled.
The pull returned.
Stronger.
Hungrier.
Closer.
Don't.
His breath shook.
Don't.
The enforcer raised his weapon.
"You are destabilizing future continuity."
Cael's chest tightened.
"Final directive—"
The weapon fired.
And instinct broke his promise.
Give me—
Pain tore through him.
Deeper than before.
Like something being ripped out by the roots.
The world froze again.
Not fully.
Not cleanly.
Like last time.
This time—
It cracked.
Sound distorted.
Light fractured.
Reality itself resisted.
Above his wrist—
The numbers screamed.
03:12:41:02
became
03:12:41:01
Second borrowed.
Cael moved.
Dodged.
Turned.
Ran.
And as he passed the frozen enforcer—
A memory slipped.
A street.
A small hand in his.
Someone laughing beside him.
Gone.
The world snapped back.
He collapsed against the far wall.
Breathing hard.
Shaking.
"What… did I lose this time…?"
No answer came.
Only silence.
Far above—
The golden timeline fractured further.
And the man watching it—
Smiled.
Because the boy had taken another second.
And now—
The future was truly breaking.